Where is the palace part of it?
Written: Mar 18 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice restaurant, friendly service
Cons: Dated, cramped, needs a makeover
The Bottom Line: The bottom line is still waiting in the carpark
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Amir Palace |
Syria has been in the news a bit recently, the next country to be told how to behave and be brought "into line" by Shrub and his gang of oilmen. Is it just me, or is there something ironic about the USA criticising Syria for its occupation of another country, meddling in the internal affairs of another country and the activities of its intelligence network? Does anyone wonder why Dubya publicly preaches democracy to some countries like Syria and Iran, but not to countries like Kuwait, The UAE (Dubai) or Saudi, ruled by the King/Emir/Sheikh without even the slightest pretence of democracy? Mmm.. subject for another op perhaps!
Anyway - Syria. An ancient country, in a strife-torn region of the world. The capital is Damascus but the northern city of Aleppo, founded in the 3rd millennium BC, can claim to be among the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. The central citadel, an ancient fortress almost 1000 years old, rises above the city and is a must-see for any visitor.
The Amir Palace also rises above the city. It is a bit newer than the citadel, but also seems very dated. And it is perhaps not such a must-see.
Arrival
I arrived in Aleppo and went straight to the hotel, which is located firmly in the city center. It is a tall, grubby concrete block, about twenty floors high, looking very tatty and tired on the outside. It rises above a parade of shops, with which it shares a small, very congested car parking area, so access was a bit difficult, not helped by the cars parked haphazardly around the small patch of tarmac. The taxi finally blew its horn loud and long enough, there was a magical parting and we managed to squeeze the extra few metres closer to the door.
The entrance is surprisingly small and nondescript. There is no revolving door, or large, glass double door or patio. There is just a small door in the corner of the building, which takes you into a fairly long but narrow lobby with the reception desk at one end.
Check in was quick and painless. I was given a key to my room and a porter insisted on wheeling my bag for me. As we went to the lift, we passed several groups of men sitting around; at the far end of the lobby was a cafe, with tables and chairs, mostly occupied; and they all watched me. I am used to being stared at, but this was slightly unsettling. I wanted to stand and say, "It's ok, I'm a Brit" but then I realised that some would consider that deserving of an apology anyway, so I sheepishly went to my room and didn't come back down until it was time to leave.
My fears were of course needless. As I found out very quickly, the Syrians are a very friendly and hospitable people and particularly love Brits.
The Room
Very often the older hotels are more spacious. I think that, when they were designed, travel still had a romance, something magical about it and the people who created the hotels respected that. Now of course it is "how many punters can we get in here...another thirty?"
The fifties and sixties seems to be the time that this changed, and certainly it is true of this hotel. The room was so small that I could barely squeeze between the foot of the bed and the desk. But that was not such a bad thing as the TV, sitting on the desk, was so small that you had to be within a few feet to watch it.
To their credit, the layout was slightly different from most hotel rooms. Walking in the door, the bathroom was directly ahead, with the room to the left. The decorator, however, should be shot - that's if they are still alive, which is doubtful as the decor must have come from the fifties and not been updated since. The carpet was a delicate shade of pink and brown, the chairs were yellow and blue and the desk was a faded yellow.
The bed itself was surprisingly ok, a bit soft but after several hours on the road I slept fine. The TV on the desk was small, but so were the prices of the minibar.
The bathroom was old and dated but clean. A fresh bar of "Miss Lynn" soap was provided, in a plastic box.
Food and Drink
That evening I ate in Top of the Tops, a restaurant and bar on the top floor with a wonderful view of the city. The lighting was low and in the dark the restaurant looked quite plush. In the daylight it might have looked less so. The menu was in English, French and Arabic, the food a mixture of international and local and surprisingly good. Both courses arrived quickly, and the service very pleasant and friendly.
Morning breakfast was served in Le Gourment in the basement. Breakfast was less memorable than my previous dinner; the breakfast buffet offered a choice of salads, fruit and a limited hot selection. Lunch and dinner was also available, but I felt that I had made the right dinner choice the previous evening.
The Fountain coffee shop in the lobby was a bustling blend of lobby bar, pastry shop and general meeting place. It was certainly busy and popular.
There is also a night club but I was not tempted!
Conference and Banqueting
The hotel has a banquet hall, Layali al Amir for conferences, weddings etc. There is also a smaller conference room for meetings.
General
In the morning I woke up to noises of shouting from outside. It sounded like a mob. I peered behind the curtain, wondering what was going on. It was just the fruit and vegetable market several floors below me.
Overall the hotel was comfortable enought for the one night that I was there. The people are certainly hospitable and friendly and the Top of the Tops restaurant offers an excellent and spectacular dinner. Aleppo is definitely somewhere I would like to visit again; I might go to the Amir Palace for dinner, but I would look elsewhere for lodgings!
Recommended:
No
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vodkaboy
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I've been thinking. That's an improvement.
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